Volume 1, Chapter 161: Second Meeting with the Editor

The Weibo Night gala is a comprehensive honors ceremony held annually around this time to review, vote on, and celebrate the most popular trends, dances, and events of the year.

The invitees are all prominent domestic filmmakers and musicians.

Among the more significant categories are Film of the Year, Television Series of the Year, and Director of the Year.

Due to his overwhelming output and sensational works throughout the past year, Jiang Yu was also included on the guest list.

Early in the morning.

Jiang Yu was fast asleep under the covers when he suddenly felt a slight pain under his armpit.

Opening his eyes in a sleepy haze, he saw Su Muyu lying on his arm, playfully plucking at his hairs.

"When did you pick up this little habit?" Jiang Yu gently tapped Su Muyu on her silly head.

Su Muyu looked at Jiang Yu with a bright smile: "It's almost time for our flight. I saw how soundly you were sleeping and wanted to wake you up. Would you like me to use some warm wax to pull them out for you later?"

"...... Get out of here!" Jiang Yu rolled his eyes. "Time to get up and head to the airport!"

After packing their luggage, the two went downstairs, got into a car, and headed to the airport for a flight to the capital.

Their team members had already arrived earlier to arrange their itinerary.

They arrived at the designated hotel.

True to being a major internet giant, the company had booked an entire five-star hotel.

Jiang Yu secretly peeked at the hotel's room rates.

Good grief, even an ordinary room cost several thousand yuan.

As soon as they reached the main entrance, staff members immediately stepped forward to verify their identities and escorted the two to the front desk for check-in.

Because there were too many reporters around and their relationship had not yet been made public, they each registered a separate room.

Just then, two people were being led inside by the staff, running right into Jiang Yu and Su Muyu.

Although these two men didn't have legions of fans like the current crop of young idols, their presence was by no means small, and each of them was a person of considerable stature.

"Xiao Jiang, Xiao Su, you're here too! I knew you'd be staying here."

"Xiao Jiang, Xiao Su, haha, I didn't expect to run into you guys here."

Two steady, surprised voices rang out.

Jiang Yu and Su Muyu turned around to look.

"Oh, Professor Wang Xianjun!"

"Professor Dong Lidong!"

Wang Xianjun needed no introduction, and Dong Lidong was the veteran actor who had played Jiang Yu's imperial father in The Great Han Dynasty.

"Professor Wang, Professor Dong, do you two know each other?" Jiang Yu asked curiously.

"Old Dong and I have known each other for nearly thirty years," Wang Xianjun replied, then looked somewhat surprised. "Old Dong, you know Xiao Jiang too?"

Dong Lidong looked at Wang Xianjun with a face full of disdain. "And you call yourself my buddy. You old codger are really unreliable—you don't even watch the TV dramas we act in."

"Xiao Jiang, tell him, what was your role in the show?"

Jiang Yu chuckled, "Imperial Father!"

Wang Xianjun looked astonished. "What show? Since when did you start calling people Imperial Father?"

"The Great Han Dynasty."

Wang Xianjun slapped his forehead. "Ah, someone recommended that show to me, saying it was exceptionally well-made and telling me to watch it. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. So that show starred you? Can you even act?"

Dong Lidong rolled his eyes. "You really should take a good look; this little fellow is quite something. Although our scenes together weren't very numerous, during a few of our exchanges, his acting actually made me nervous."

"Well, well, not bad. I had no idea you could act." Wang Xianjun gave Jiang Yu a deep, appraising look.

"Professor Dong is giving me too much credit," Jiang Yu replied with habitual modesty.

However, Wang Xianjun interrupted him. "Young people shouldn't be overly modest. Since you can act, naturally you should keep it in the family. I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you, and now that I know you can act, there's no need to look for anyone else."

Hearing Wang Xianjun's words, Jiang Yu grew curious. "What is it?"

"No need to rush. These next two days will be very busy, and you just got off a plane. Rest for a couple of days, and then we'll talk."

Hearing Wang Xianjun say this, Jiang Yu nodded.

After checking in, they returned to their rooms.

Jiang Yu walked into Su Muyu's room. "I'm going out to talk about copyright matters. Are you coming with me?"

Su Muyu nodded.

Since they had already arrived in the capital, they might as well take care of the matter of reclaiming the copyright from the website that she had discussed with Su Ling yesterday.

Peking Roast Duck.

Cherry was sitting inside a private dining booth.

Yesterday, "Guoba-daida," with whom she hadn't chatted in a long time, had suddenly popped up online.

In truth, she had always felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Jiang Yu.

Back when she first graduated, she had ventured alone to the capital to pursue her dreams. Freshly hired, she didn't earn a high salary.

To save money, she could only rent a one-bedroom apartment on the absolute outskirts of the capital. The environment was far from ideal, yet it still cost four thousand yuan a month. Every day, she had to wake up two hours early to catch the subway just to ensure she wouldn't be late.

After returning home at night, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the area surrounding her rented apartment was extremely remote. Though she was just a young woman prone to fear, she had endured it all on her own.

Outwardly she remained strong, even keeping a cheerful tone when talking to her family on the phone, but the moment she hung up and burrowed beneath her quilt, she couldn't help shedding secret tears.

She had no idea how much longer she could live like that.

Until the appearance of Zhu Xian.

A single book completely changed her destiny.

Though the author was somewhat unreliable, and the ending he wrote left people filled with boundless regret—making her teeth itch with lingering resentment whenever she thought about it—

What kind of terrible ending was that? A man, a dog, a beauty, and a scrap of green fabric.

It was as if the author held a personal grudge against Biyao.

She still remembered the scene when the Cat Cat Building was surrounded by people holding protest banners.

Yet, flawed ending aside, there was no denying that the book was a massive success!

Not only did Guoba achieve fame, but as his coordinating editor, her own star rose accordingly. A hefty bonus appeared in her bank account—amounting to at least five years of her previous income—which drastically improved her life.

All of this was thanks to Jiang Yu.

Therefore, the moment Jiang Yu contacted her, she immediately agreed to meet, her eyes fixed firmly on the door of the private room.

A short while later, a man wearing a face mask, sunglasses, and a duck-tongue cap was led in by a waiter, followed closely by a woman.

"Guoba-daida!"

Cherry stood up, her face beaming with joy. "I finally get to see you again!"

Jiang Yu smiled as he took off his mask, sunglasses, and cap.

"Long time no see!"

"And this is?" Cherry looked curiously at the woman behind him.

The woman removed her disguise, revealing a peerlessly gorgeous face that left Cherry completely dumbfounded.

"Su... Su Muyu!"

Su Muyu smiled. "Hello."

"Hello! Let's sit down and talk!" Cherry was thrilled, but she hadn't forgotten her mission. She looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Guoba-daida, I came here with a mission today. Let's eat while we chat."

"Alright," Jiang Yu agreed with a smile.

After taking a few bites of the meal, Cherry spoke up: "Guoba-daida, our Editor-in-Chief knew I was coming to meet you and asked me to pass along a question: now that Zhu Xian has been finished for two months, when are you going to start a new book?"

As far as Cherry was concerned, Jiang Yu was her golden-egg-laying goose; even if the Editor-in-Chief hadn't told her to ask, she would have brought it up herself today.

Jiang Yu smiled. "Actually, I already have a plan. But you know how my work goes—I've been extremely busy lately, which delayed things a bit."

"A little delay is fine, as long as you have a plan!" Learning Jiang Yu's intentions, Cherry immediately beamed, considering he was, after all, her financial savior. "By the way, Guoba-daida, is there a specific reason you asked to meet me today?"

Jiang Yu took a sip of water. "My main purpose in coming this time is to inquire about the copyright of Zhu Xian. I'd like to discuss with your company the possibility of buying back all the copyrights currently in your hands.

"Additionally, for the books I write next under the pen name Turkey-Flavored Guoba—I want to purchase the copyrights to all books under this moniker, also as all-rights acquisitions.

"How much will it cost?"